The Daily News. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1914. RUSSIA'S SUCCESS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 150, 1 December 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1914. RUSSIA'S SUCCESS.

For the last few days the centre of interest as regards the war has been the .desperate battle on the Warta-Vistula front. It is apparently impossible to deduce from the accounts as sent from Berlin and Petrograd what lias actually occurred, as both sides claim to have been victorious. There can, however, be no doubt that the struggle between tiie armi?s of Germany and Russia in what is called the battle of Koluzslu was one of intense ferocity and stubbornness. If the reports from Petrograd are to be believed, then the German army on the East Prussian border has been hopelessly shattered. There are two outstanding features of this great battle that cannot fail to rivet attention. One is the complete failure of the Crown Prince to cover himself with the glory of a mighty conquering hero, and the other is the absolute futility of German! tactics. It would almost seem as if the Kaiser and liis heir treated the science of war as of little value as compared with their personality. It was all very well for Caesar to say: "I came, I saw, I conquered!" but it is evident that the mantle of the great Roman Emperor has not fallen on the present heads of the house of Hohenzollern. Something more than arrogant personality is needed in a great war in which modern engines of destruction are of more importance than men. Strategy is the dominant factor of modern warfare, and it is here that the Germans appear to signally fail. This lias been proved conclusively in the great battle which is as yet unfinished on the Warta-Vistula front. Germany meant well, no doubt. The idea of driving a wedge into the enemy's main forces is theoretically accepted as a strong move, for, if successful, it enables the attackers to deliver a crushing blow that would prove decisive, inasmuch as the opposing forces would l>e cut in pieces from at least three sides. This was the plan adopted by tlio German Commander-in-Chief, General (now FieldMarshal) Hindenberg. It is not at all surprising that the Russian commander conceived the same idea, and put it into practice; but he got in first, and had the advantage of superiority of numbers, with the, result that he it was wlio did the crumpling-up, and not the Germans. According to the messages from Petrograd, the army of the Crown Prince — the flower of the German forces—has been routed, with enormous loss of men and munitions of war. We have still, however, to wait for more reliable details until the full significance of' the battle is apparent, but there seems to lie good ground for giving the Russian version the benefit of being more in ac- ' cord with the true facts than the German. On that assumption it is probable that the battle, when terminated, will have a very material effect on the duration of the war, and inspire more confidence than ever in the complete success of the Allies. It is estimated that the, German forces numbered at least two millions, and this is extremely likely to be accurate, as enormous reinforcements have of late been sent forward to East Prussia in order to give the Crown Prince the opportunity of covering himself with the greatest glory by indicting a crushing defeat on the Russians. Twice lias the Kaiser's heir been placed in the limelight, amidst a great flourish of Kaiserinn trumpets, heralding him as a modern Napoleon. Each time lie has signally failed. He was placed in command at Lorraine, so that he might head the march of the Teutonic hosts into Paris, but his miserable failure, though supported by the picked men of the German forces, caused the wreckage of the scheme to enter the French capital, and a disastrous rout was only averted by a hasty and hazardous retreat. It was by his personal order, that the German army commenced the oflensivc against Russia, and here, 1 again, defeat of a most crushing nature lias attended his efforts. If it wero possible to pity such a man, the circumstances woultK fully warrant the exhibition, but instead of that we are forced to give credence to the statement that lie has 110 aptitude for military science, and that he is as puffed up with conceit as the Kaiser, and just as eager for hero-worship. The temerity of attacking tiie Russian simply spelt suicide for Germany. It is quite another sort of picture that is seen on the Russian side, where, under the Grand Duke Nicholas, the armies of the Czar have been performing marvellous feats of endurance and pluck. It is 110 easy task to convey three million men across the bitter region of Poland, with all their equipments, and then for the men to have to give battle to the highly-trained forces of Germany, brought to the battle ground by trains. It was a stupendous task, and yet it was accomplished with ease and precision. The Russian tactics were sound, though they were but a repetition on a larger scale of the earlier conflict, when they withdrew from the German border to the Warsaw line, enticing the enemy from their strategic base. In tiie present battle (for it appears to lie still unfinished) the Russians again withdrew at the outset, and received the attack along a line from Thorn, 011 the north, to Cracow, on the south. Again Germany attacked, regardless of the loss of life, and broke through the Russian centre, hut only to meet with a turning and enveloping movement, which seems to have completely crumpled up the German forces. There is abundant evidence of a desperate fight, and the probability is that the battle will prove of the greatest moment to the Allied, forces. The Russian

bear may be, and has been, somewhat slow in movement, but. her grip in I deadly. The London Times- aaya: "The Prussian arrogance revealed in the German movements is gradually producing the worst disaster that could ever overtake a great. Empire." Thig.vory cause, however, will help to hasten the end,of the struggle, and humble tho vaunted power of Germany in the dust.